The present invention relates in general to surgical devices and procedures, and more particularly to minimally invasive surgery.
Surgical procedures are often used to treat and cure a wide range of diseases, conditions, and injuries. Surgery often requires access to internal tissue through open surgical procedures or minimally invasive surgical procedures. Minimally invasive surgery often involves using an endoscope, such as laparoscopes, arthroscopes, and flexible endoscopes, to visualize internal tissue of a patient, which sometimes referred to as “endoscopic surgery”. Endoscopes and instruments are typically introduced into a patient through percuateous punctures or incisions, or through a patient's natural orifices to access intraluminal anatomy or for transluminal procedures.
Minimally invasive surgery has numerous advantages compared to traditional open surgical procedures, including reduced trauma, faster recovery, reduced risk of infection, and reduced scarring. Minimally invasive surgery is often performed with an insufflatory fluid present within the body cavity, such as carbon dioxide or saline, to provide adequate space to perform the intended surgical procedures. The insufflated cavity is generally under pressure and is sometimes referred to as being in a state of pneumoperitoneum. Surgical access devices are often used to facilitate surgical manipulation of internal tissue while maintaining pneumoperitoneum. For example, trocars may be used to provide a port through which endoscopes and surgical instruments are passed. Trocars generally have an instrument seal, which prevents the insufflatory fluid from escaping while an endoscope or surgical instrument is positioned in the trocar.
While a wide range of minimally invasive surgical devices and techniques have been used, one has previously made or used the devices and techniques in accordance with the present invention.